NAACP Condemns the Scheduled Execution of Troy Davis

September 08, 2011

Too Much Doubt in Conviction and Scheduled Execution of Georgia Man

(Washington, DC) – On Tuesday, September 6, 2011, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) strongly condemned the scheduled execution of Troy Anthony Davis. The NAACP believes that there is too much doubt surrounding the conviction of Mr. Davis, whose many accusers have since recanted their testimony against him.

Davis’ execution is scheduled for September 21, 2011.

“After reviewing the evidence, I am convinced that Troy Davis is an innocent man,” stated NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous. “It is appalling to me that with so much doubt surrounding this case, Mr. Davis is set to be executed in 14 days. Justice will never be served by the state-sanctioned murder of an innocent man.”

On the evening of August 19, 1989, Savannah police officer Mark Allen MacPhail was gunned down while he worked as a part-time security guard. In a case that has garnered national attention, seven of the nine witnesses against Mr. Davis have since recanted their statements incriminating him, several citing police pressure to fabricate statements. To date, there is no physical evidence connecting Mr. Davis to the crime.

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Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.